About Caelen Walker:
After years of entertaining friends with random short stories, observational articles and a variety of recreational writings I was finally challenged to put those skills to use writing an actual novel. The idea began to develop and unfold and the story seemed to flow with no end, so what started as a simple bucket list item has developed into the Crown Acres series. Some ideas just didn't fit in and will be developed into other opportunities outside of the Crown Acres universe, but the writing never seems to stop.
While I am not any one character from any book, I enjoy spreading bits of myself throughout all of my characters. It allows me to leverage my time in the US Army, working for Military Contractors, armed security, the tech industry and more against my role as a father, husband, son, brother, and friend.
What inspires you to write?
I really enjoy telling the stories of my characters. I think the term prepper has been given a bad name and people now think of some redneck wearing a tin foil hat and shooting at government employees as the standard, when in reality, I think all of society would do better to be a little more self-sufficient and rely less on services that could disappear with no warning. Nobody enjoys sitting down and reading countless manuals about these subjects, so I wanted to present the lessons to people by way of a narrative they could enjoy.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
In this genre, I really enjoy A. American, Walter Browning, William Johnstone, and a few others, but outside of it, I like C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and Garth Stein.
Tell us about your writing process.
Is "ad hoc by the seat of your pants, making it up as you go along and hoping nobody notices" a writing style? Because if so, that's alllllll me! The truth is, I don't have a style. I like writing my main character in the first person because I want people to engage with him on a deep, personal level and feel the fear, anger, and sorrow that he feels. That being said, a first-person book makes it difficult to tell the whole story of what is happening when that character isn't in the room, so I took the opportunity to switch to third-person when dealing with other characters. I've received some really powerful feedback from readers on balancing these two approaches.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Always. It's incredibly cliche, but the fact of the matter is I just write down what they tell me to. They are living in this world and trusting me to tell their story and teach others the lessons they are learning the hard way, so I do. I may sprinkle a bit of my attitude throughout the dialogue or into certain character interactions, but generally speaking, my characters live this life and I am simply watching it, recording it, and passing it on.
What advice would you give other writers?
YOU need to own your time table. I've talked with writers who took five years to produce their first book, It took almost a year and the second one came to me in 90 days from the first letter to editor sign-off. Don't let anyone push you, don't let them cause you to jeopardize your own stories. You put out what you feel is right on your timetable.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I mean… my wife kinda made me? As silly as that sounds, she pointed out the time I took away from the family to write it, the late nights, the research, the brainstorming. She helped me realize that I might as well actually publish it and let others enjoy it as well or it was all just wasted time.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I pray that people stop phoning it in and respect the craft. AI is going to kill the Indie book scene as people continue to crap out 30 books a month via an AI engine, create an AI cover and slap it up on Amazon, grinding the rest of our efforts into dust. I hope that more authors will have the opportunity to shine, but as long as AI is throwing off the numbers, I don't see that happening.
What genres do you write?: Suspense, Fiction, Mystery
What formats are your books in?: Print
Website(s)
Caelen Walker Home Page Link
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
